Over the past year, we have seen some of the most intriguing LEGO Dragons released to date conincidentally coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the release of the first ever LEGO Dragon. The upcoming Lunar New Year, the Year of the Dragon, is bound to give builders the chance to explore the possibilities of LEGO Dragon design even further.

And we are off to a great start, with 80112 Auspiscious Dragon revealed at the recent Shanghai trade show. This 1171 part set will be released on January 1 2024, costing $AUD149.99 /USD89.99 /€79.99 /£69.99. I find the sets celebrating the Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival as it has been relabelled this year, to be amongst the most appealing and enjoyable to put together. As such, I was excited to be given the chance to take a look at it prior to its release in the new year. This is certainly one of the most spectacular Dragon Builds that I have seen appearing in a set in recent years.

Read on as we take a look at the way this new set comes together…

The set comes in a red box with a red dragon sitting in the lower left and upper right corners. A new Spring Festival logo appears in the upper right corner.

Inside the box, there are 10 numbered plastic bags, as well as a 224 page instruction manual. The instruction manual opens with a comment regarding sustainable packaging, as well as an advert for the LEGO Builder App before opening onto a painting of a family excited by the arrival of the Year of the Dragon, while the serpentine dragon rises above them.

On the next page, there is a multilingual paragraph that fills us in on Dragon Lore:

Elements

As has become tradition, all 1171 elements(plus a few extra) have been laid out by the knoller-in-chief for your perusal.

The first 5 bags are dedicated to a plinth on which the dragon is mounted.There are lots of SNOT elements, including 2x6x2/3 plates with 4 studs on the side, as well as plenty of red and yellow elements that will be hidden in time.The base will also feature the multitude of grey slopes of different forms. There are a number of turquiose/teal elements, surrounded by clouds of different colours, as well as a collection of blue bricks, along with some golden elements. As we move through the build, we encounter a good number of tan elements in a variety of shapes including 3×3 quarter circle elements, printed pentagon tiles, along with more turquiose and red/gold elements. Tan elements abound in the form of brackets, rounded plates offset tiles and more.

If you do not want spoilers for the building process, I suspect you jump to the final model now.

The Plinth

The Dragon begins with a central core of colourful elements, which see us lay muliple SNOT bricks that will feed onto the sides of the plinth in due course.

As we build it up, we see lots of elements in different colours, while stone grey elements go towards forming the upper layers.

We wraqp the sides in turquoise/teal for a jade effect, while we add in some surface stone effects – darker at the base and lighter towards the top. blue elements start to wrap around the base, with plates, tiles, clips and unikitty tails forming the peaks of the waves. I love the variety of forms achieved here.

Until now, you might be wondering about the role of the technic pins that are emerging from the plinth. We put together the Dragon’s feet, and secure them in place, waiting patiently for the rest of the Dragon to appear.

We will fill in a few more details around the base once the dragon is in place, but for now, as we reach the end of bag 5, it is time to put the base aside.

The Dragon’s Body

Compared to the European dragons with their relatively muscular bodies and leathery wings, Chinese dragons are more serpentine, with four shorter legs. Wings are not necessarily a featured part of the beast’s anatomy.

We start work on the body of the dragon, building up the angulated body with a core of snot brackets. Technic balls joints down towards the base remind us where the feet will be attached. The chest is built up using layered elements to construct a more flowing form. Next, we add in a module for the body.

We then add on the top of the neck. Along the spine of the dragon, leaves are attached inside out to maximise the scale effect .

From here, we add in spint elements: golden teeth attached beneath a plate with clip.

We follow on tieth the main body of the dragon – a collection of hinged elements, fixed in plcce by the location of the leaves.between plates with bars. Plates, followed by the decorated tan tiles are attached, and the arched back is attached to the base of the neck. Some plates required to be turned a little on their axis to ensure that smooth form of the dragon looks just right.

We start work on the tailbringin topgether multiple subunits which after being joined together are strengthened around the sides, securing the shape of our completed tail.

Attaching all of these subunits make me feel that something might be missing

The Head

I have to admit, I am repeatedly impressed by the amount of work that goes into putting together brick built Dragon Heads, and this set is no exception. The transition from a 2x6plate with 4 teeth on one end through to the complete head, cramming 82 elements into the space is remarkable.

There are a few elements here which help the head really take on the right shape: the jade brackets and curved slopes; the new claws functioning as eyebrows, and the steer’s horns serving as whiskers But It would be remiss of me not to mention the spectacular decoration used on the printed eyes.

I do find sometimes that it is difficult to be sure of the right angles to to position elements such as the 1×1 plate with bar which is attached to the whiskers, as well as the round plate with the handle, used for mounting the eyebrows

We take out head, and attach it to the serpentine body.

And now we are just a few elements away from completing the model. We attach the ball joints here to the feet, currently mounted on the plinth. Having done this, we attach orange clouds to the plinth and add a plaque The right front hand is holding onto a pearl, a recurrent symbol on Chinese traditional art. The appearance is achived through the combination of a bright blue minifigure head covered by Mysterio’s headwear as seen in 71674 Spider-man’s Monster Truck.

The Completed Auspicious Dragon Model

In September, China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism alon with the Central Academy of Fine Arts unveilled the Auspicious Dragon as the ‘Majestic and Cute’ mascot of the New Year celebrations for Year of the Dragon. this Dragon is said to bring the majestic presence of the dragon, with a ‘charming touch of cuteness.’ Is this the same character that is depicted in this set? I like to presume so. The more I look at the final model, I can see the cuteness and whimsy in its appearance.

The final dragon is supported on three legs, which tends to result in a bit of a twist in the dragon’s body. I found it necessary to adjust each of the legs to ensure that it was standing straight, and not leaning to one side. Having straightened it up, I compared it for size with the original LEGO Dragon, which debuted 30 years ago:

The model has a may be relatively static, as far as its body and legs are concerned , but the positioning of the claws, as well as the options for the head’s position give us a number of expressions for the dragon to wear.

In fact, when compared with the prefabricated heads of the lastest Ninjago Dragon’s, you really admire the form as well as the parts usage involved in sculpting the Dragon’s head.

I really appreciate the form achived using the segmented form of the Dragon’s body, and then fixing it in place via the legs, compared with Mei’s Guardian Dragon seen in Monkie Kid earlier in the year which essentially has a ‘step shaped bode, that has been rotated 45º.

In the last few years, creature builds have become more and more detailed, and I feel this is one of the best forms seen to date. I appreciate the final form , with the gold and jade scales, and I am quite impressed by the final scaly appearance on the sides, due to the new printed tile, placed on different angles.

Compared with the traditional fierce dragon’s seen in European mythology, the Chinese dragon is typically associated with good fortune and wisdom. And this feeling is conveyed by this model. The construction experience was satisfying, taking a few hours to complete it. I was surprised that over half of the instructino manual was occupied by building the plinth, but it certainly conveys a sense of gravitas to the model.

I had previously regarded Mei’s Guardian Dragon as one of the more impressive that I had build over the years, but I feel this has now been surpassed. I said at the start of the review that these sets are often some of my favorite builds of the year, and the Auspiscious Dragon does not disappoint me. It captures the character of the dragon, while providing some scope for your own customisation. I am happy to give the build 4.5 out of 5 Arbitrary Praise Units.

This 1171 part set will be released on January 1 2024, costing $AUD149.99 /USD89.99 /€79.99 /£69.99. [Affiliate links to LEGO.com]. the set is likely to have wider release in the same way that previous Spring Festival sets have.

But I’d love to know what you think? is this a build for you? Will it be displayed in pride of place in your home? Or is it just a great source of parts at an economical price? Why don’t you leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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Until Next Time,

Play Well!

This set was provided by the LEGO Group for Review Purposes.All opinions are my own.